Malaysian Muslim And Christian Groups Caution Against Listening To Black Metal Music

Malaysia's The Star Online has issued the following report:

Some Muslim and Christian groups have called on music lovers to abstain from listening to black metal music.

Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) president Yusri Mohamad said that although a person might only enjoy the melody and not believe in the lyrics, it was still religiously and morally wrong.

"You listen to the lyrics and you sing the words. Even though you don't believe in them, you are still uttering the words," he said.

National Evangelical Christian Fellowship secretary-general Rev Wong Kim Kong said those who claimed that they did not believe in the lyrics might still fall prey to Satan.

"The music will still have a subtle spiritual influence on the listener. It creates a doorway for Satan to step in and take over the person’s religious beliefs," he said.

However, Rev Wong admitted that not every listener should be accused of Satan worship.

Johor Baru Jesuit priest Father Jojo Fung, however, said the most important thing was the maturity of listeners.

"Many youths use the music to express themselves. Black metal is a subculture that is flying in the faith of the dominant culture.

"We cannot simply marginalise these youths and say that they are wrong to listen to such music.

"As a priest, my advice is anyone who wants to listen to such music should be more watchful over the influence the music holds over them. Take care in seeing whether the music starts to numb your faith and takes you away from your religion.

"Of course, the anti-Christ ideology is rejected by the Catholic Church but at the same time, we must recognise that many use this kind of music as a form of social protest.

"Do not sit back and judge them without understanding why they are subjecting themselves to the culture," he added.